Prisoners in Western Australia are receiving gratuity payments after being required to sleep on mattresses placed on the floor in overcrowded accommodation, according to multiple reports. ABC Australia says the scheme involves financial compensation for prisoners whose sleeping arrangements are affected by cell overcrowding. The West Australian and PerthNow report similar details, describing the payments as an unusual measure used in response to prisoners being unable to access beds or other standard sleeping areas.
The reports indicate the payments are provided as a form of gratuity linked to the conditions in cells, where detainees sleep on the floor rather than on mattresses on beds. Each outlet frames the measure as a practical response to ongoing capacity pressures in Western Australian jails rather than as a formal policy change announced publicly in the reporting provided.
While the coverage focuses on the fact of compensation and the circumstances triggering it, the accounts do not provide further specifics here on the payment amounts, eligibility rules, or duration of the arrangement.
